Design Anthology - Asia Pacific Edition
We take a look inside the Darlinghurst home and studio of Henry Wilson
Studio Culture explores the inner workings and inspirations of creative producers across Australia and New Zealand. In this edition, we take a look inside the Darlinghurst space of industrial designer Henry Wilson.
When Henry Wilson purchased a small terrace house in Darlinghurst eight years ago, it might not have ticked many of the boxes on his wish list, but it was all he could afford. Fast forward to today and the Sydney-based industrial designer realises just how lucky he was to have bought the property when he did. The redevelopment of the narrow site has been a five-year-long labour of love, and it’s finally come to fruition.
Wilson now calls the property home, having collaborated with architect Brad Swartz to design a new three-level dwelling at the back of the site. The existing garage functions as a workspace where many Studio Henry Wilson products are assembled, while the front terrace has been converted into a studio and showroom for Laker, the furniture brand that Wilson recently established with fellow industrial designer David Caon, who also runs his own separate practice from the terrace space. On any given day there are five or six people — designers and assistants — milling around the workspace and studio, all of whom come together for lunch in the sunny central courtyard.
‘The thing I like most about my studio is that it feels like a meeting place, and it feels very homely — it’s not stale or static,’ says Wilson, who studied at Design Academy Eindhoven after specialising in woodwork at ANU’s School of Art & Design in Canberra. ‘There are often drawings lying around, and David and I aren’t too bothered about things going back in their spot. It can feel a little ramshackle at times, which is quite nice, and it’s also a space where we can welcome people and they get a look behind the scenes.’
Mornings are typically spent dealing with orders from international clients, while afternoons are reserved for developing new concepts and ideas. Products are dispatched from the rear workspace, where the ever-present sounds of drilling and hammering are countered by laid-back playlists curated by Wilson’s partner.
His A-Joint joinery system for tables, which won him the Bombay Sapphire Design Discovery award in 2011, has recently been transferred to
Laker’s portfolio, and demand for the multiuse system is as high as ever. The design is characteristic of Wilson’s minimalist aesthetic, which champions robust, luxe materiality and a strong sculptural expression. A number of Laker products figure in the studio, alongside vintage Eames chairs and a mid-century sofa that Wilson inherited from his parents. Unsurprisingly, the library is peppered with books on Italian postwar designers, including Gio Ponti and Achille Castiglioni.
Wilson concedes that living and working in the same space does have its challenges, but it also comes with advantages. ‘If it’s a lazy Sunday afternoon and the option is to watch TV or do something else, I’ll wander downstairs into the workspace and check up on something that might have been left to set overnight,’ he says. This ease of access appeals to Wilson, and as his respective portfolios continue to grow, it makes good sense to manage his businesses so close to home. Of course, it helps that the small innercity hub of activity is so warm, inviting and utterly charming in both build and spirit.